Given name & surname
Colter
“a horse herdsman”
Colter is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “a horse herdsman.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “a horse herdsman.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Colter through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,705
- 10,705 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 2,354 babies
- 2025
- 2,354
- #157 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +614%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,354 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 157 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 613.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (176). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,951 as a first name in 2020; 3,250 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Colter’s family of names
Colter has a related form in Coulter. Colter has a related form in Coltar. Colter has a related form in Coltere.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Coultervariant
- Coulturvariant
- Coultorvariant
- Coultyrvariant
- Coultirvariant
- Coultarvariant
- Coltyrvariant
- Coltirvariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Colter
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Colter, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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